Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-02-09
APoPULAR TOPIC.
OAe Of Dakota's Prominent Citizens
Discusses the Problem Of how to
Abolish Liquor.

Discusses She Problem Of how to
Abolish Liquor.
To the Pres aad Dakotaian.
Redfeld, Dakota, February 6--I have
rsad the prohibition bill in your Issue OF
Jan. Oath with a greatdeal of interest. 1t il
laid upon q foundation which eventually
must. win. The principle is taken from
q bill introduced in the legislature two
years ago, but does not 60 as for as that
bill. The bill referred made provision
for obtaining liquor by the glass by any
person over age and who does not abuse
Its privilege; but no person would be
allowed TO pay for any liquor tie be
drank by another person, nor would any
person be permitted to lounge or linger
in the room where the liquor is being
dispensed. This bill made it local option
for any village, town or city to decide as
TO whether liquor should be dispensed by
the glass or not. so in communities
where there is sufficient strength to en-
force absolute prohibition they can
adopt the one system and where there
is not sufficient strength they can adopt
the other,
1t is generally conceded that the great
evil OF intemperance arises out Of the
treating and ~lounging habit, and were
it not for these. it would be
but a short time before intemperance
would die a natural death, SO far az it's
attendant evils are concerned. But SO
long as the rising generation is being
sducated into drunkards, by lounging in
our licensed saloons, just SO long will
the evil continue and multiply, 1t is
not the glass which o man drinks and
pays for himself hat makes the drunk
ards and fills the poor house. but it is
the glass that some other, or q half .
dozen others, pay for that does the mis-
| chief,
Man is q reasoning animal, and when
Justice and fairness are brought to bear
upon his reasoning faculties, as q ruiz
he yields; but if brute force is brought
to bear, he rebels.
ri = Nv " RoA RooSt Nv WAC oiAACt w .
euss the question as TO the soundness OF
mems reasoning who claim that prohibit
tion is an infringement upon the
liberties Of American citizens. I will
simply consider society as it
exists and draw such conclusions as in
my Judgment facts will warrant.
We all know that a great many men
consider it an infringement upon their
rights to be prohibited from getting q
glass OF liquor at pleasure. In some com
munities they are largely in the majority
and where this is the case it is an utter
impossibility to enforce prohibition With
any degree of sucoess-it inhibits, but
does not prohibit. This being the case
IL is no much better TO adopt plan By
which the evil will be overcome and as
soon % society reaches q standard where
absolute prohibition can be enforced,
take the final step.
But, says one, there is q principle in
voived and I cannot give my consent
{for a man to drink q glass of liquor be-
Eosuse it is q Sin and o orinae. He has no
right to drink and he shant.
The other man says he has 8 right and
shall. Who is right-the "shant," OF the
"shali~ Who was right-the twenty
who were hanged for witohcraft in
Massachusetts, or the religious fanatics
who hung them? Who ~ss right-the
%inofensive Quakers whose books were
burned by the hangman and whose lives
were sacrificed, or the populace that
created laws invoking the sentence Of
death upon all those who failed to pro.
nounce Shibboleth with the prober dla.
lcct2 Who was right-Ootton Mathe,
or Robert Calefi
/ cite these items OF history, for the
purpose of showing how easy it is for
men with the best of motives to be IN
error. Had the religious enthusiasts
been q little more patient, q little more
yielding in their convictions, q little
more fair in their judgment, many
deaths and much suffering would have
been obviated.
"Theye is y principle involved" Show
me q principle that is 30 stubborn as moi
to yield to reason and justice. I can
not comprehend q principle that is not
tempered with honesty, fairness and
Justice. I hate the liquor traffic with
ALI the hatred there is in me. It is the
canker worm that is gnawing ct the
heart Of morality aud intellectual de-
velopment. The hand that brutalizes
the father and robs the child OF its
bread and parental aft eotion, the dagger
Shat draws the heart blood from the
wife and mother.
Because I hate 1t is the very reason
why / favor q system that can be en-.
forced-a System that society in itf
present state o. development will mp.
hold-a system upon which all fair
minded men can unite-a system that ID
progressive . system that will take
the traffic out of the hands of individual.
for profit, whether druggist or saloonist
"a system that will say to men, we will
not deprive you OF your 80 called per.
sonal liberty, so long as you do not abns'
that liberty and do not infringe upon tn,
liberties Of others, but when yon go be.
yond that and endanger the support ant
happiness Of yourself and family, you
liberties, for the common good of society